Not As Bad As He Seemed
by oursolemnhour49
Summary: After the group rescues Lloyd in Triet, the teenager finds himself infuriated yet again by the mercenary who makes him feel like a fool. *Strongly implied spoilers* One-shot.


**I was starved for some oyako. And I've had a hellish week that I somehow survived, so I thought I'd post this in celebration.  
Just to be clear before you start reading- I took some artistic license with what happened to Lloyd when he got captured in Triet. Not a lot, but it was the only way I could get this to work. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy!**

**I don't own anything... why would I be in 'Fanfiction' if I owned something?**

"Do you think he'll be all right?"

The girl's worry was clear as she looked at the prone figure on the rickety bed. She was standing at the foot of the bed beside a small silver-haired boy who looked as concerned as she sounded. The younger boy kept his eyes on the woman beside the bed, who glanced at the two of them and took her hand off the sleeping boy's forehead. "He'll be fine," she said firmly. "He just needs to sleep right now."

A look of relief crossed the boy's face. "Of course Lloyd would get himself knocked out just when we're about to rescue him," he said, laughing a little.

"He's lucky he did not get killed," the tall man in the doorway said coolly. "And we still do not know why those Desians wanted Lloyd. Miss Sage, we should leave this place as soon as we can."

The young woman glanced at him. "Lloyd is going to need rest after a blow to the head like the one that. He won't be fit to travel the desert without some time to recover."

The auburn-haired swordsman inclined his head. For a moment there was silence in the small room. The thick heat of the desert seemed to soak through every crack in the flimsy wooden walls. Voices from the marketplace drifted up through the open window and caught the attention of the silver-haired boy. He hesitated and then looked up at his sister. "So Raine- can Colette and I go look around?" he asked hopefully.

The young woman stared at him. "Genis, we've just gotten Lloyd out of a Desian base, and you and Colette want to run around Triet to sightsee?"

Both Genis and Colette's faces fell a little, and Raine could not help but smile. "Oh come on, you two. It shouldn't be that long till Lloyd wakes up. But if you want to go around Triet, we'll get some extra supplies when Lloyd's awake. Then we'll leave."

"We should not wait that long," the man in the doorway said quietly. His tone was not challenging, but he clearly did not think much of the proposed plan. Raine glanced at him, and he elaborated, "We have no way of knowing what those Desians wanted with Lloyd, nor what they will do to secure him again. We should not linger."

"What do you have in mind?" Raine asked, nettled. "With a head injury like the one Lloyd sustained, he needs to rest. Do you want to make him walk through the desert when he's not at full strength?"

"No," the swordsman answered with a slight hint of annoyance. "But what you suggest will delay us unnecessarily. We should buy what we need now, so we will be ready to leave as soon as Lloyd wakes."

"Sounds ok to me," Genis commented. "Come on, Raine, please? This place is kind of cool, and we might never see it again!"

His sister sighed. "All right. But someone should stay here with Lloyd in case he wakes up."

Colette looked as though she were about to raise her hand, but the man spoke up. "I'll stay in the hotel," he said. "If Lloyd wakes soon, we'll find you. If he's still asleep when you return, we should probably wake him and go."

Raine glanced at the limp figure of her student. "Fine." She grabbed her staff and joined Colette and Genis, who were waiting at the door. "Kratos, we'll come back soon, but I'll have the final word in whether or not Lloyd's fit to move."

The mercenary nodded, and stepped aside to allow the others to pass. As soon as they had gone, he looked at the sleeping boy for a moment. A strange expression crossed his face, almost one of pain, but his red-brown eyes were very gentle. If any of the others had been present, they would have been amazed to see a faint smile on his lips as he turned to go to his own room. But he froze when he heard a voice mumble sleepily, "Dad?"

* * *

When Lloyd realized he was awake he immediately wished he could be unconscious again. His head felt heavy and his mouth was dry from the sweltering heat. The lump just above his left ear was throbbing. His limbs felt heavy, and the soreness above his ear seemed to spreading throughout his head. Some light source was beaming onto the right side of his head, and he could feel the heat throbbing on his eyelids, making his headache worse. Everything felt jumbled; images of places and people danced with a strange vivid eeriness in his mind. His head was pounding so badly that he did not want to open his eyes, but the images grew more and more dizzying. After a moment's struggle, he forced his eyelids open.

Lloyd could never afterwards say what caused the word to slip from his mouth. But the sight of the man standing in the doorway triggered some reflex in him. Something about the hazy figure, something in the broad shoulders and sharp profile touched some nerve, or perhaps a lost memory.

"Dad?" he whispered, blinking and trying to focus.

The figure froze as though turned to stone for one instant. The shoulders tensed and the person's mouth clenched as though he were in physical pain. Then the man spoke, his voice surprisingly tense, "Lloyd? Are you all right?"

The boy passed a hand over his eyes, and suddenly the room fell into focus. He stared at Kratos in the doorway, and fell back with a groan. This had to be one of the most embarrassing moments of his life. Not even falling asleep on his feet in class could compare to the humiliation of what had just slipped off his tongue. "What the hell did I just say?" Lloyd muttered. He sat up with an effort, but could not meet Kratos's eyes. "Damn… sorry. That- that was stupid of me."

The mercenary drew a sharp breath. "It was not nearly as stupid as what you did in that Desian base."

"How could I help it if they captured me?" Lloyd grumbled sullenly. His head still throbbed, and the stupid way he'd blurted out 'Dad' only added insult to injury. He kept his eyes steadily averted from the older swordsman.

"Your being captured was foolish enough, but I was thinking of when you turned your back to the Desians when we came in. You cannot be so careless around your enemies, or you will be killed."

Lloyd glared at the floor in growing anger. He hated how this mercenary could always make him feel like a two-year-old. Yes, he was much better at fighting, and a lot stronger than Lloyd would ever be, but did the man have to rub it in his face all the time? "So I made one mistake, and I obviously didn't get killed!"

"Mistakes like that will get you killed, and if you persist in making them, you'll be of no use to the Chosen." Kratos turned away from Lloyd, but there was a curious note in his voice as he went on, "You promised to protect her, did you not? Unless you can fulfill such a demanding promise, you should not make it."

"Why the hell do you care?" Lloyd spat. "You only protect people for money!"

The mercenary turned to face him then, and Lloyd almost quailed before the look in his eyes. It was the look of a man who had had some old wound torn open, and who would not hesitate to lash out at the person who had done the tearing. The teenager swallowed, and met the fierce eyes that bored into his own with all the strength he could muster. This mercenary had no business talking to him about promises. It wasn't even as though he actually cared about Colette, or any of them, for that matter. Kratos wouldn't have done anything to help them if he wasn't being paid.

For several seconds, they stared at one another. Then to Lloyd's astonishment, Kratos's gaze softened, and he lowered his head. "You are right, I do protect for a price now," the mercenary said quietly. "But that does not mean that I have always done so."

For a moment he was silent, and then looked at Lloyd. The look on his face made the young swordsman squirm; somehow the older man seemed even more solemn than usual. The mercenary dropped his gaze to the floor and said very quietly, "I once made a promise like you did, that I would protect someone very close to me. And I failed. I know what I am saying when I tell you that you have to be able to keep that kind of promise before you make it."

Abashed, Lloyd lowered his head. Then he looked up at Kratos. "What do you mean when you say you failed it?"

"That's not important," the man answered coldly. "What is of importance is whether or not you understand the enormity of what you promise when you say you will protect someone. Do you?"

The teenager nodded without hesitation. "Yes, I understand it." He seemed to catch a skeptical gleam in Kratos's eye, and immediately added, "I get it! I do! And even if I didn't, you could explain it to me, right?"

"That kind of thing is not something I can explain. I can tell you what it entails, but your understanding is outside my control. If you wish to learn how you might better fulfill that promise, I may be able to help you."

"You talk like it's the end of the world if I don't understand every little thing about it," Lloyd grumbled. "Can't I just go with what I know and keep working from there?"

The mercenary's lips twitched a little. "Yes. I'm not asking you to do more than that. But you need to think more carefully about what you promise in order for your word to have any value."

"I guess that makes sense. No- it does. But I mean, the fact that I still promised would mean something, right? Unless- are you saying that unless I can keep a promise that it's worthless?" The teenager looked at his hands. "Because if that's what you're saying, I don't think that's right. I mean- well, sometimes things happen, and you can't keep a promise. Like- I didn't get Marble a key crest, even though I said I would. Does that mean that because I couldn't keep that promise that it was worthless?"

Kratos passed a hand over his eyes. "Lloyd, what are you talking about?"

Lloyd swallowed and looked away. Feeling as though the words were being dragged out of him, he said slowly, "When Genis and I were in Iselia- we met this woman at the ranch- Marble- and I promised I'd get her a key crest- but I didn't get a chance to give it to her- and she was turned into a monster by the Desians. From what you're saying- was that worthless? Should I not have promised her that?"

The mercenary closed his eyes and was silent for a moment. Lloyd said nothing, his palms sweating as the memory grew more vivid. He could remember the shock of hearing Marble's voice coming from that monster, and if Kratos was right, then he'd only made things worse for her by promising her something he could not give.

At last Kratos spoke, and his voice was far gentler than it had been throughout their conversation. "No, Lloyd. The fact that you were willing to promise to help her was something you should be proud of. That promise was not worthless, and I am sure that it made her happy knowing that someone was willing to take that risk for her. I think I should have explained myself differently; it is simply that you should not blindly make promises which you do not know if you can keep. It will only hurt you and the ones to whom you made the promise."

The teenager shrugged. "I don't know. I mean- I guess you're right, but if it were me, it would mean a lot that someone tried to protect me, even if they failed. Sometimes- sometimes, it can be the thought that counts, right?"

"Not always," Kratos said softly. "But if you have the thought, that is at least a start."

"It's all I have at the moment." Lloyd grinned. "I don't know how much I'll be able to get when you said I should understand the whole promise- everyone says I'm not that smart- but I'll try, ok?"

Kratos nodded and turned away. Over his shoulder, he said, "Do you feel well enough to get up? We should leave this area as soon as we can."

Lloyd blinked. "Um…yeah, I feel ok. My head's sore, but I think I'll be all right."

"Good. The others are down in the market; we should look for them. And Lloyd," Kratos turned around. The teenager clenched his teeth, hoping Kratos wouldn't mention what Lloyd had called him when he'd woken up. The mercenary glanced at the side of the boy's head, and went on, "you should probably let your teacher heal your injury more fully before we start."

The teenager nodded, relieved. The two of them left the inn and began searching for the others. After some moments Colette caught sight of them and waved. Raine was examining an old book at one of the stalls and Genis was trying to pull her away. Lloyd had to laugh at the little elf's useless efforts. At last Kratos walked over to the pair of them and convinced Raine to set down the book.

Colette smiled and turned to Lloyd. "Did Kratos wake you up? Or did he just let you sleep?"

Lloyd smiled. "No, I woke up myself. I was pretty out of it when I did wake up, though." His face turned beet-red at the memory of his calling Kratos 'Dad.'

The blond Chosen glanced at him. "What happened?"

"Ah- I said something pretty stupid. But it was ok, he didn't mind. We talked for a little, actually."

"So you're becoming friends with him!" Colette exclaimed. She smiled. "I knew you would!"

"I don't know if I'd call it that yet," Lloyd said thoughtfully. "But he might not be as bad as he seemed."

His eyes fell on Kratos as he spoke, and the teenager wondered whether it was his imagination, or whether the mercenary had actually smiled for an instant before turning to lead the way out of the desert city.


End file.
